Confessions of a Church Leader Under Conviction
One of the highlights of summer vacation is the opportunity to experience the body of Christ at worship; I’m always energized by the sense that I’m part of the family, even though I don’t know a soul. I shared this experience with my parents one Sunday on a recent family vacation.
We arrived 20 minutes before the service and were warmly greeted by the church pianist who was preparing for her duties that morning. She explained that they were a small congregation fighting to stay alive. Those same words were echoed by the church lay leader who expressed her personal determination to do everything possible to keep this church from closing. The small congregation was pleased to have a visiting pastor leading the service and providing the Proclamation of the Word that morning.
The service progressed as usual with spirited singing of familiar hymns, Old Testament lesson, Epistle lesson and prayers. When the guest clergy came to the place in the order of service which was listed as, “The Children’s Sermon”, he spoke these haunting words. “I didn’t come prepared with the message for the children but the good news is that there are no children present this morning”. While I understood his intention and am not seeking to write this reflection in a critical tone, I was struck with sadness at how easily his words were accepted as a statement of fact rather than as a call to action by this struggling congregation.
At the conclusion of the service, we once again experienced the warmth of those gathered as they insisted we join them for coffee in the church basement. As we sat around a single banquet table, (the morning attendance was 12) we were surprised to see another table of equal size filled with homemade cookies, breads and a pot of mouth watering homemade chicken noodle soup which had been made by a woman who got up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare this gift. We were included in the conversation, generously and thoughtfully, a conversation which was gently peppered with memories of congregational vitality in days gone by. It was a poignant experience sitting at a single table in the middle of an aging Fellowship Hall—the remnant of a congregation gathered to share an abundance of gifts which could have brightened the lives of so many more people.
As my parents and I traveled back to our vacation campsite reflecting on the experience of the morning, I was struck by the gifts this congregation did have. They had a desire and the ability to welcome people AND they had fantastic homemade chicken noodle soup! I wonder if homemade chicken noodle soup could work the same miracle as the loaves and fishes of a child? What if this very sincere congregation were to make chicken noodle soup for homebound folks in the community or for single parent families or for folks simply need to know that someone cares? How gloriously freeing to give up worrying about the church and find joy in living out the kingdom with chicken noodle soup!
Churches are filled with folks who long to experience the challenge, the passion and the joy of being “kingdom people”. As a church leader, I’m under conviction about this. Do I proclaim the kingdom of God is at hand or am I focused on the self-satisfaction of leading a successful church? Do fear and discouragement cloud the vision of being vibrant, resourceful followers of Christ in a world hungry for His love and redemptive power? Am I about the kingdom of God or the survival of the church?
“All I have needed thy hand hath provided, great is thy faithfulness,
Lord, unto me.”
Submitted by a church musician whose heart has been humbled and cracked open, Dan Stokes is the director of music ministries at Christ Church United Methodist in Louisville, KY. Admittedly on the quirky side, he prefers a bicycle as his primary mode of transportation and shopping in second hand stores.